Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Connecticut: Family of woman attacked by pit bull in New Haven reveals aftermath of attack

CONNECTICUT -- There's a fundraising effort underway for a woman who was critically injured in a pit bull attack in last week.

A GoFundMe page for Patricia O'Brien displays what she looks like after surgery.

The 78-year-old was in her yard on Hubinger Street when police said her landlord tried to get her acquainted with the dog. O'Brien's family said the dog bit her face, neck, arms and ripped the back of her scalp.

Last week, remarks from city's aldermen and even Mayor Toni Harp suggests a change in the city's dog licensing policy that could come in the near future. City leaders are looking to pass legislation banning the cross breeding of dogs.

On July 4th, our parent's lives changed drastically after my mother was viciously mauled by a pit bull while picking flowers in her own backyard. Thankfully, it was a holiday and neighbors were outside and heard her screaming and was able to beat the dog off of her.

Unfortunately, by that time they stopped the attack, the dog had bit her face, neck and arms and ripped off the back of her scalp. She has undergone a lengthy surgery to close all the wounds except the skull where she still requires a drain.

She has a very long road ahead of her and a very trying recovery. At her age of 78, she still worked a 6 day a week job which they relied on to survive. She loves dogs, loves to garden and just enjoy life. This all came to a crashing halt that day.

My mother will probably never be able to work again and we don't know if she will ever be able to drive again. The hospital bills are going to be catastrophic which will not all be covered by their insurance. She will need a lot of rehab, follow up wound care and a lot of therapy. Being that the accident occurred in her own yard she is unable to pursue any kind of a settlement between the dog and the owner.

This is not correct.

The state of Connecticut is a strict liability state, meaning you are responsible for what your dog does and the victim does not have to prove that you, the owner, knew your dog was dangerous, aggressive, vicious, etc. I feel badly for this woman but her family needs to sit down with an attorney and pursue a civil case NOW against the Pit Bull owner.

Sec. 22-357. Damage by dogs to person or property. If any dog does any damage to either the body or property of any person, the owner or keeper, or, if the owner or keeper is a minor, the parent or guardian of such minor, shall be liable for the amount of such damage, except when such damage has been occasioned to the body or property of a person who, at the time such damage was sustained, was committing a trespass or other tort, or was teasing, tormenting or abusing such dog.

My dad is 83 years old and on a fixed income and due to very poor vision, he is not able to drive and is limited to what he can do. My mom was both of their caretakers. There will now be no money coming in for them and trying to survive day-to-day living is going to be very difficult. My brother works two jobs and travels a lot daily and has had to put that on hold to take my dad back and forth to the hospital and take care of everything else.

I will need to leave my job and travel back and forth from Florida to help out when she gets out of the hospital. Our parents worked hard all their lives and now at their age they should be enjoying the rest of their lives happy and worry-free and that has all come to an end. We are asking family and friends to help them in any way, big or small. Thank you in advance for any help you can give.